Moving mechanism of movable body

ABSTRACT

The moving mechanism has a first stationary-side gear part and a second stationary-side gear part provided on a support body side; a movable-side gear part and a pinion gear provided on a supported part of a movable body; and a guide device positioned so that the movable-side gear part engages with the first stationary-side gear part and the pinion gear engages with the second stationary-side gear part. The first stationary-side gear part is formed along an arc of a virtual circle, and has teeth oriented toward a center side of this virtual circle; the second stationary-side gear part is provided adjacent to this first stationary-side gear part on the center side of the aforementioned virtual circle, is formed along an arc of a separate virtual circle from this virtual circle, and has teeth oriented toward a center side of this separate virtual circle.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an improvement of a mechanism for rotatablymoving a movable body between a reference position and a deployedposition without depending on a fixed single shaft.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY

There is a mechanism, in which a door body is combined on a box-formbase body rotatably movable between a closed position and an openposition, by providing on the box-form base body a first stationary gearpart for engaging with an arc-form gear part provided on an arm part ofthe door body, and providing on the box-form base body a secondstationary gear part for engaging with a rotary gear provided on the armpart of the door body. (See Patent Document 1)

Also, there is a mechanism, in which a lid body is combined on a mainbody rotatably movable between a first position in which an opening ofthe main body is closed and a second position when the opening is open,by providing on the main body a rack surface for engaging with a pinionbody provided on the side of the lid body as a movable body, andproviding on the main body a gear part for engaging with a gear providedon this movable body on a part at the center of rotation of this pinionbody. (See Patent Document 2)

In the mechanisms thus configured, the door body or lid body serving asthe movable body can be rotated without depending on a fixed singleshaft. On the other hand, there may be a case when an external force inthe direction of pushing the door or lid into the box-form base body ormain body is applied to the door or lid when this is in the openposition or first position. In the mechanism of Patent Document 1, thisforce is applied directly to the rotary gear of the door body, becausethis rotary gear is positioned directly above the second stationary gearpart. Also, in the mechanism of Patent Document 2, this force islikewise applied directly to the lid body, because the gear of this lidbody is positioned directly above the gear part of the main body.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Documents

-   Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 3833925-   Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.    2006-328790

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

The main problem to be solved by this invention, in such mechanism beingconfigured so that a movable body is rotated without depending on afixed single shaft, is to ensure that in the case when an external forceis applied to the movable body, this force is not applied directly tothe comparatively brittle and weak parts of such mechanism.

Means for Solving the Problem

In this invention, the moving mechanism of a movable body is configuredaccording to (1) to (4) below in order to solve the aforementionedproblem.

(1) The invention is a moving mechanism of a movable body assembledrotatably movable between a reference position and a deployed positionon a support body by way of a supported part;

(2) comprising a first stationary-side gear part and a secondstationary-side gear part provided on the support body side; amovable-side gear part and a pinion gear provided on the supported partof the movable body; and a guide device positioned so that themovable-side gear part engages with the first stationary-side gear partand the pinion gear engages with the second stationary-side gear part;

(3) wherein the first stationary-side gear part is formed along an arcof a virtual circle, and has teeth oriented toward a center side of thisvirtual circle; and

(4) the second stationary-side gear part is provided adjacent to thisfirst stationary-side gear part on the center side of the aforementionedvirtual circle, is formed along an arc of a separate virtual circle fromthis virtual circle, and has teeth oriented toward a center side of thisseparate virtual circle.

Because the movable-side gear part provided on the supported part isplaced inside the first stationary-side gear part on the support bodyside and the pinion gear is placed inside the second stationary-sidegear part on the support body side, firstly, the movable body is rotatedbetween the reference position and the deployed position without relyingon a fixed single shaft. Also, secondly, in the case when an externalforce toward the direction of releasing the inside placements of themovable-side gear part and the pinion gear is applied to the side of themovable body when this movable body is in the reference position, thisforce is not applied to the movable-side gear part and the pinion gear,but is received by the aforementioned guide device. It can thereby beensured that damage, or the like, is not caused to the aforementionedmovable-side gear part and pinion gear in the case when such externalforce is applied.

The aforementioned movable body may be provided with the supported parton an inner face side of a lid for closing an opening of the supportbody in the reference position; and in this reference position, a partof the first stationary-side gear part may be positioned between the lidand the movable-side gear part, and a part of the second stationary-sidegear part may be positioned between the lid and the pinion gear. If so,then it can be ensured that in the case when an external forcesufficient to push the lid into the support body is applied to the lidin the reference position, this force is not applied directly to themovable-side gear part and the pinion gear.

A favorable mode of configuration of this invention is such that: themovable-side gear part is formed along an arc of a virtual circle; andthe guide device are constituted by a shaft body provided in a centerposition of this virtual circle, and a slot part provided on the supportbody side for receiving this shaft body.

A contacted part to contact a part of the supported part when anexternal force is applied to the lid in the reference position may beprovided on the support body side. If so, then it can be ensured that inthe case when an external force is applied from above to the lid in theaforementioned reference position, a part of this external force isreceived also by this contacted part.

The pinion gear may be provided as a part of a damper device, or may belinked with a damper device, so that a damping force is applied torotation thereof. If so, then it can be ensured that even in the casewhen the aforementioned rotation of the movable body is enforced byurging of urging means, this rotation is decelerated to a suitabledegree.

Effect of the Invention

According to this invention, because the movable-side gear part isplaced inside the first stationary-side gear part and the pinion gear isplaced inside the second stationary-side gear part, it can be ensuredthat in the case when an external force is applied to the movable body,this force is not applied directly to the movable-side gear part and thepinion gear. It can thereby be ensured that, for example, in the casewhen such movable body is provided as a lid, or the like, as an interiorfixture of an automobile, or the like, damage, or the like, is notcaused to the moving mechanism of this lid to the extent possible, evenwhen a downward load is applied to this lid by placing a hand, or thelike, on this lid in the closed position as the reference position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram in perspective view of a storage devicehaving a lid as the movable body.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram in perspective view showing the mainparts on the left side of the storage device without the cover body.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram in perspective view showing the mainparts on the left side of the storage device without the lid.

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram in side view showing from the left sidethe moving mechanism provided on the left side of the case as thesupport body.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram in side view showing from the right sidethe moving mechanism provided on the right side of the case as thesupport body.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram in side view showing from the left sidethe moving mechanism provided on the left side of the case as thesupport body.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of this invention is described below based on FIGS. 1 to6. Each drawing depicts a storage device configured so that movement ofa lid 2′ as a movable body 2 is controlled by application of the movingmechanism according to this invention. In particular, FIGS. 4 and 5respectively illustrate states when such movable body 2 is in thedeployed position.

The moving mechanism of the movable body 2 according to this embodimentis used for assuring regular movement of the movable body 2 between thereference position and the deployed position without depending on afixed single shaft.

Such moving mechanism can be used, for example, as a moving mechanism ofa lid, door, arm, or the like, in a device provided with such lid, orthe like, to be rotatably movable. In the illustrated example, suchmoving mechanism is used as a moving mechanism of a lid 2′ as a movablebody, to be positioned roughly horizontally in the reference position toclose from above an opening 10 on a case 1′ as a support body 1 havingthis opening 10 on an upper face.

The movable body 2 is combined on the support body 1 rotatably movablyby way of a supported part 21. In the illustrated example, the case 1′as the support body 1 has a front plate 11, a rear plate 12, left andright side plates 13 and 13, and a bottom plate 14, and is configured sothat the opening 10 is narrow in a front-to-back direction x and wide ina left-to-right direction y. The corresponding lid 2′ as the movablebody 2 has a lid main body 20 having a roughly rectangular plate form,and supported parts 21 are provided respectively on both the left andright sides of this lid main body 20. Each of the left and rightsupported parts 21 is configured as a plate form arranged along thefront-to-back direction x, with the plate surface oriented roughlyorthogonally to the surface of the lid main body 20. Also, each of theleft and right supported parts 21 and 21 is positioned beneath the lidmain body 20 in the reference position. Also, in the illustratedexample, the left-side supported part 21 is positioned on the outside ofthe left-side side plate 13 of the support body 1, and the right-sidesupported part 21 is positioned on the outside of the right-side sidepart 13 of the support body 1, to be supported on the support body 1 onthe respective sides. (FIGS. 4 and 5)

In the illustrated example, a movable-side gear part 30 and a piniongear 31 are provided on an outer face part of such supported part 21.Such movable-side gear part 30 engages with a first stationary-side gearpart 32, and the pinion gear 31 engages with a second stationary-sidegear part 33, on the support body 1 side to be described.

The movable-side gear part 30 is integrally provided on the supportedpart 21 by forming a circular uplifted part 21 a on the outer face ofthe supported part 21, and providing gear teeth on a step part of thesupported part 21 formed by this circular uplifted part 21 a, that is,an edge part of the circular uplifted part 21 a. That is, themovable-side gear part 30 assumes a rack form formed along an arc of avirtual circle.

A circular through-hole 30 a running through the supported part 21 inthe left-to-right direction is formed in the center of such movable-sidegear part 30. In the illustrated example, a shaft body 34 a has a legpart 34 c to be inserted into this through-hole 30 a and a head part 34b not fitting into this through-hole 30 a, and the leg part 34 c,inserted into this through-hole 30 a and projecting on the inner faceside of the supported part 21 a, is received with a little gap in a slotpart 34 d, to be described, formed on the side plate 13 of the supportbody 1, so that the aforementioned movable-side gear part 30 engageswith the first stationary-side gear part 32 and the pinion gear 31engages with the second stationary-side gear part 33. That is, in thisembodiment, a guide device for assuring the aforementioned engagement isconfigured by such shaft body 34 a and slot body 34 d. FIG. 3)

Also, in the illustrated example, the through-hole 30 a of suchmovable-side gear part 30 is formed on the bottom of a recess 30 bformed in the center part of this movable-side gear part 30. Also, inthe illustrated example, the pinion gear 31, being a part of a damperdevice 35, is provided on the outer face part of the supported part 21using this recess 30 b. Such damper device 35 has a shaft part, notillustrated, of the pinion gear 31 axially supported on a main body part35 a fitted into the aforementioned recess 30 b. Also, a resistance(damping force) is applied to the rotation or relative rotation of thisshaft part, that is, the pinion gear 31, and a damping force is appliedto the rotation of the movable body 2 by the resistance thus applied.Typically, silicon oil or other viscous fluid is filled in the main bodypart 35 a constituting such damper device 35, and the viscosityresistance of this viscous fluid is applied to the rotation of theaforementioned shaft part. In the illustrated example, the damper device35 is anchored to the supported part 21, using ear parts 35 b formed onboth sides in the diameter direction of the main body part 35 a of thedamper device 35. The rotation center shaft of the pinion gear 31 isarranged in the left-to-right direction, and this rotation center shaftis positioned in the center of the movable-side gear part 30. The piniongear 31 is positioned outside the aforementioned recessed 30 b, and thepinion gear 31 accordingly engages with the second stationary-side gearpart 33, to be described, at a position further outside from themovable-side gear part 30.

Also, in the illustrated example, on the supported part 21 of themovable body, on the left side of the lid 2′ illustrated in FIG. 1,there is provided an elongated arm 22, having an upper end sideconnected to a lower part of such supported part 21, and having astriker part 22 a projecting toward the rear on a lower end side, whenthe movable body 2 is in the reference position. On the outside of theside plate 13 of the case 1′ as the support body 1, there is provided alatch device 15 for receiving the striker part 22 a of such elongatedarm 22 from the front and catching the same using an internal catcher 15a. In the illustrated example, the state in which the movable body 2 isin the reference position is maintained by such latch device 15. Suchlatch device 15 is configured so that the catcher 15 a releases thestriker part 22 a when the striker part 22 a is further pushed into theinner depth side of the latch device 15 from the state in which thestriker part 22 a is caught. (This pushing-in is referred to as “firstpushing-in.”) In the illustrated example, a front end 20 a of the lidmain body 20 is pushed in downward from the state in which the lid 2′ asthe movable body 2 is in the reference position, the striker part 22 ais pushed into the inner depth side of the latch device 15 by thispushing-in, the catching of the striker part 22 a by the latch device 15is released by the pushing-in operation of the front end 20 a of thislid main body 20, and the lid 2′ as the movable body 2 is forciblyrotated up to the deployed position (position in FIG. 6) by urging ofurging means 36 to be described. In the illustrated example, between therear edge of the side plate 13 and the rear plate 12 constituting thecase 1′, there is formed a gap 16 for avoiding interference with theplace of connection with the lid main body 20 on the supported part 21in the course of rotation to the deployed position of the lid 2′. Whenthe lid 2′, having been rotated up to the deployed position, is rotatedin return up to the reference position, the striker part 22 a againenters into the latch device 15 at the end of this return movement. Thecatcher 14 a of the latch device 15, having released the striker part 22a by the aforementioned first pushing-in, again catches the striker part22 a when the striker part 22 a is pushed in a second time by againentering into the latch device 15. The state in which the movable body 2is in the reference position is again maintained thereby.

The support structure on the right side of the lid 2′ illustrated inFIG. 5 is substantially identical to the support structure on the leftside of the lid 2′ illustrated in FIG. 4, except that the aforementionedlatch device 15 and elongated arm 22 are not present.

Meanwhile, the first stationary-side gear part 32 and secondstationary-side gear part 33 constituting the moving mechanism areprovided on the aforementioned case 1′ as the support body 1. Such firststationary-side gear part 32 engages with the movable-side gear part 30of the aforementioned movable body 2, and the second stationary-sidegear part 33 engages with the aforementioned pinion gear 31.

In the illustrated example, such first stationary-side gear part 32 andsecond stationary-side gear part 33 both are formed on a side part ofthe support body 1, in the illustrated example, on the side of an innerface 17 a, oriented toward the side part of this support body 1, of acover body 17 for receiving the supported part 21 of the movable body 2between this side and the outer face of the side part 13 of the case 1′.

In the illustrated example, the cover body 17 assumes a plate form, andis fastened by screws using installation parts 18 formed on the outerface of the side plate of the case 1′, opening a space for receiving theaforementioned supported part 21 between the cover body 17 and the outerface.

Also, this cover body 17 comprises:

the first stationary-side gear 32, being formed along an arc of avirtual circle, and having teeth oriented toward the center side of thisvirtual circle; and

the second stationary-side gear part 33, being provided adjacent to thisfirst stationary-side gear part 32 on the center side of this virtualcircle, being formed along an arc of a separate virtual circle from thisvirtual circle, and having teeth oriented toward the center side of thisseparate virtual circle.

In the illustrated example, such first stationary-side gear part 32 andsecond stationary-side gear part 33 both are provided so that thecenters of the aforementioned virtual circles are positioned on the sideof the rear plate 12 of the case 1′, and both gear parts 32 and 33continue in the top-to-bottom direction so that the insides of thecurves are oriented toward the side of the rear plate 12. Also, suchfirst stationary-side gear part 32 and second stationary-side gear part33 both present rack forms following arcs having a range of roughly 90degrees centered on the centers of the aforementioned virtual circles.Also, the second stationary-side gear part 33 is positioned further tothe side of the outer face of the cover body 17 from the firststationary-side gear part 32, the distance between both gear parts 32and 33 is roughly equal regardless of the position in the direction ofcontinuation thereof, and this distance is roughly congruent with adistance z (FIG. 4) between the outer perimeter of the pinion gear 31and the movable-side gear part 30 on a virtual line extending in theradial direction from the center of this movable-side gear part 30.

Also, in this embodiment, a slot part 34 d for receiving the leg part 34c of the shaft body 34 a constituting one of said guide device 34 isformed on the side face 13 of the case 1′ further toward the rear fromthe position of formation of the second stationary-side gear part 33.This slot part 34 d is formed so as to follow an arc of a virtual circlehaving a center positioned at the center of the aforementioned virtualcircles followed by the aforementioned first stationary-side gear part32 and second stationary-side gear part 33, and having a smallerdiameter than these virtual circles. This slot part 34 d also continuesin the top-to-bottom direction so that the inside of the curve isoriented toward the side of the aforementioned rear plate 12.

Because the movable-side gear part 30 provided on the supported part 21is placed inside the first stationary-side gear part 32 on the supportbody 1 side and the pinion gear 31 is placed inside the secondstationary-side gear part 33 on the support body 1 side, the movablebody 2 is rotated between the reference position and the deployedposition without relying on a fixed single shaft. In the illustratedexample, when in the reference position, the movable-side gear part 30is placed inside the upper part of the first stationary-side gear part32, the pinion gear 31 is placed inside the upper part of the secondstationary-side gear part 33, and the shaft body 34 a is furthermorepositioned on the upper end 34 e side of the slot part 34 d. That is,the movable body 2 is such that the supported part 21 is provided on theinner face side of the lid 2′ for covering the opening 10 of the case 1′as the support body 1 in the reference position, and in this referenceposition, a part of the first stationary-side gear part 32 is positionedbetween the lid 2′ and the movable-side gear part 30, and a portion ofthe second stationary-side gear part 33 is positioned between the lid 2′and the pinion gear 31. When the front end 20 a of the lid main body 20constituting the movable body 2, in this reference position, is push-inoperated so that the latch device 15 releases the striker body 22 a, aforce in a direction toward the side of a lower end 34 f of the slotbody 34 d is applied to the shaft body 34 a by urging of urging means tobe described. The movable-side gear part 30 running through the firststationary-side gear part 32 is therefore rotated in thecounterclockwise direction in FIG. 4 centered on the shaft body 34 a,and the pinion gear 31 running through the second stationary-side gearpart 33 also is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 4; thelid 2′ moves downward while standing up in a direction so that the frontend 20 a is oriented upward, and reaches the deployed position wherefurther movement is restricted, and the opening 10 of the case 1′ isthus opened. (FIG. 6) It can thereby be ensured that the track ofmovement of the front end 20 a of the lid main body 20 is kept down to alower level in the course of opening movement, compared with the casewhen the lid 2′ is rotated centered on a fixed single shaft.

In this deployed position, the shaft body 34 a is positioned at thelower end 34 f of the slot part 34 d. In the case if an external forcetoward the direction of releasing the inside placements of themovable-side gear part 30 and the pinion gear 31 is applied to the sideof the movable body 2 when this movable body 2 is in the referenceposition, i.e. in the illustrated example, when the external force isapplied from above to the lid 2′, this force is not applied to themovable-side gear part 30 and the pinion gear 31, but is received by theaforementioned guide device 34. It can thereby be ensured that damage,or the like, is not caused to the aforementioned movable-side gear part30 and pinion gear 31 in the case when such external force is applied.In the illustrated example, the leg part 34 c of the shaft body 34 apositioned on the upper end 34 e side of the slot part 34 d is pushedfrom above against the slot inner wall on the side of the upper end 34 eof this slot part 34 d, so that the aforementioned external force isreceived.

In this embodiment, a contacted part 19, contacted by a part of theaforementioned supported part 21 when an external force is applied tothe aforementioned lid 2′ in case the movable body 2 is in the referenceposition, is further provided on the side of the support body 1. In theillustrated example, such contacted part 19 is constituted by an upperpart of an uplifted part formed in a position directly beneath the lowerend 34 f of the aforementioned slot part 34 d on the outer face of theside plate 13 of the case 1′. Also, in the case when an external forceis applied from above to the lid 2′, in the aforementioned referenceposition, in an amount of a clearance “s” formed between this contactedpart 19 and the lower end of the supported part 21, the supported part21 moves downward and strikes the contacted part 19, so that a part ofthis external force is received also by the contacted part 19.

Also, in this embodiment, the movable body 2 in the reference positionis forcibly rotated toward the deployed position by urging means 36. Inthe illustrated example, such urging means 36 are constituted by atorsion coil spring 36 a, provided on the outside of the side plate 13of the case 1′ as the support body 1, in a state in which a winding part36 b of the spring is fixed in position on the inside of the curve ofthe aforementioned slot part 34 d, and this winding part 36 b iselastically deformed with one end 36 c of the spring being constantlypressed against the side plate 13 of the case 1′ and the other end 36 dof the spring being constantly pressed against the leg part 34 c of theaforementioned shaft body 34 a. In the illustrated example, such torsioncoil spring 36 a accumulates urging force in the direction of bringingthe other end 36 d of the spring closer to the one end of the spring 36c in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 by the aforementioned elasticdeformation of the winding part 36 b. When the catching of the strikerpart 22 a of the aforementioned latch device 15 is released in theaforementioned reference position, a force toward the lower end 34 fside of the slot part 34 d is thereby applied to the shaft body 34 a andthe lid 2′ is forcibly rotated up to the deployed position as previouslymentioned. This rotation is decelerated to a suitable degree by thepinion gear 31 serving as a part of the aforementioned damper device 35.

The entire contents of the specification, claims, drawings, and abstractof Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-089411 filed on Apr. 1, 2009 areincorporated by reference herein as a disclosure of the specification ofthe present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A moving mechanism of a movable body assembledfor rotatably moving between a reference position and a deployedposition on a support body by way of a supported part, comprising: afirst stationary-side gear part and a second stationary-side gear part,arranged on a side of the support body; a movable-side gear part and apinion gear, arranged on the supported part of the movable body; and aguide device for positioning the movable-side gear part to engage thefirst stationary-side gear part and the pinion gear to engage the secondstationary-side gear part; wherein the first stationary-side gear partis formed along an arc of a virtual circle, and has teeth orientedtoward a center side of the virtual circle; and the secondstationary-side gear part is disposed adjacent to the firststationary-side gear part on the center side of said virtual circle, isformed along an arc of a separate virtual circle from the virtualcircle, and has teeth oriented toward a center side of the separatevirtual circle.
 2. A moving mechanism of a movable body according toclaim 1, wherein the movable body has the supported part on an innerface side of a lid for closing an opening of the support body in thereference position; and in the reference position, the firststationary-side gear part is positioned between the lid and themovable-side gear part, and the second stationary-side gear part ispositioned between the lid and the pinion gear.
 3. A moving mechanism ofa movable body according to claim 1, wherein the movable-side gear partis formed along an arc of a virtual circle; and the guide devicecomprises a shaft body arranged in a center position of the virtualcircle, and a slot part arranged on the side of the support body forreceiving the shaft body.
 4. A moving mechanism of a movable bodyaccording to claim 1, wherein the pinion gear is provided as a part of adamper device, or is linked with a damper device to apply a dampingforce to the rotation thereof.
 5. A moving mechanism of a movable bodyaccording to claim 2, wherein a contacted part contacted by a part ofthe supported part when an external force is applied to the lid in thereference position is provided on the support body side.